OAKLAND, ALAMEDA COUNTY OFFICIALS ARE TO BLAME

I was quick to point out yesterday in MY AMERICAN OPINION that the owner of the warehouse in Oakland which burned to the ground killing at least 36 people was wrapping himself in a blanket of self-pity, totally insensitive to the fact that it was his building and his pile of violations that caused those deaths and that destruction.  But, he's not the only one to blame.  

Almost within minutes after the blaze erupted, both Oakland and Alameda County officials started point fingers.  There were countless stories about the code violations in that building, the lack of fire exits, the fact people were living there without zoning for it and without sufficient sprinklers, bathrooms... on and on.  Those violations were not discovered after the fire;  it had been an ongoing situation for months... perhaps years.  "Well, we were looking at it," officials shrugged.  

So, a guy sets a fire in the forest.  Officials stand around jawboning about whether or not he had a permit and if not, what should they do about it.  In the meanwhile, the fire devours thousands of acres of land and buildings and takes lives.  "Well, we were looking at it," they would say?  Just look at it solves nothing. 

By allowing an unhealthy fire risk to continue over months or years without resolving the threat to human life and property is just as bad as owning the building itself.  Those who protest that they were "looking at it" are complicit and negligent and therefore just as responsible for that tragedy as the building owner, and they need to be held accountable for it... 

Just like Hillary Clinton needs to be held accountable for Benghazi.